University of Greenwich Bromley College of Further and Higher EducationBSc Biomedical Science Year 2Tutor: Helen Dorrell | Biology of Disease | Case Study-Carcinoma of the Tongue | | Ndidi Nneka Ene | 12/9/2008 |

|

Introduction
Carcinoma of the tongue is a malignant tumour that begins as a small lump, a firm white patch or an ulcer on the tongue. The tumor may spread to throughout the tongue to the floor of the mouth and to the gum or jaws. As the tumour grows, it becomes more life threatening by metastasizing to lymph nodes in the neck and to the rest of the body.
There are two parts of the tongue, the oral tongue and the base of the tongue. Tongue cancer can develop in either part. The oral tongue is the part which is visible when someone ‘sticks the tongue out’. The base of the tongue is behind the oral tongue but they develop from different embryonic tissues and are dissimilar. Tongue carcinoma can be defined as squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue and could be: * Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue * Squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue
The tumor is usually located on the side/lateral border of the oral tongue. It is usually ulcerated and greyish-pink to red in color and bleeds easily if bitten or touched. Some very small cancers of the oral tongue can be quickly and successfully treated surgically by removing the primary tumor in the tongue. But as the size of the primary tumor increases, the statistical possibility of some cancer cells spreading through the lymphatic vessels to the lymph nodes of the neck increases.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue
The base of the tongue can grow several types of cancer but squamous cell carcinoma is the most common. Carcinoma of the base of the tongue is usually large when